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Cerro Corona mine, Peru

7th October 2016

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Name: Cerro Corona mine.

Location: The mine is located in northern Peru on the eastern slope of the western mountain range of the Andes.

Controlling Company: Gold Fields.
Brief Description: The Cerro Corona mine operates one openpit and one copper/gold plant. It is estimated that the current mineral reserve will be depleted in 2023.
Brief History: Exploration identified porphyry-style mineralisation in the Cerro Corona area in 1979. From 1992 to 1993, sampling by Gubbins Group identified gold mineralisation in the leached cap of the Cerro Corona deposit. Copper/gold porphyry mineralisation was discovered through the drilling of nine diamond core holes and the completion of an exploration audit into the mineralised zone.

From 1994 to 1996, Cerro Corona, then held by Barrick Gold, drilled 140 reverse circulation drill holes totalling 9 476 m and 118 diamond core holes totalling 35 254 m. During this time, Kilborn also completed a draft feasibility study.

From 1997 to 1998, RGC drilled six diamond core holes totalling 2 760 m. A preliminary feasibility study was completed by Fluor in 1998.

Minproc completed a number of feasibility studies in 2001, which indicated a mineral reserve of about 95-million tonnes. In 2003, Gold Fields, through a subsidiary, signed a definitive agreement with Sociedad Minera Corona to acquire the Cerro Corona deposit and adjoining mining concessions.

The environmental-impact assessment was approved in December 2005 and the acquisition of the Cerro Corona project by Gold Fields was completed in January 2006. Gold Fields currently owns 99.5% of the mine.

Mine construction started in May 2006. Construction of the Las Gordas tailings dam and quarrying for the relevant construction material started in 2007. The mine started production in September 2008, when the process plant started to operate.

Products: Copper/gold.

Geology/Mineralisation: The Cerro Corona copper/gold deposit is typical of porphyry-style mineralisation comprising stock work quartz-pyrite-marcasite-chalcopyrite, bornite, hematite and magnetite veining, hosted by intensely altered intrusive lithologies of diorite to dacitic composition.

Reserves: Proven and probable gold reserves as at December 2015, were estimated at 53.05-million tonnes, grading 0.90 g/t of gold and 0.46% copper.

Resources: Gold resources as at December 2015, were estimated at 109.22-million tonnes, grading 0.79 g/t of gold. Copper resources were estimated at 102.05-million tonnes, grading 0.41% copper.

Mining Method: The Cerro Corona pit is mined using conventional drill-and-blast methods, with a truck and excavator fleet. Load and haul are conducted using 36 t dump trucks and excavators with a 9 t bucket capacity.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: The processing plant at the mine includes a copper flotation plant, with a design capacity of 6.7-million tonnes a year. The crushing plant comprises two jaw crushers in parallel.

Crushed product is conveyed to a two-stage grinding circuit, comprising a semiautogenous grinding mill and a ball mill, in closed circuit with cyclones for classification.

Cyclone overflow represents the final milled product and feeds the flotation plant. The rougher flotation produces a bulk concentrate, which is reground and transferred to cleaner flotation. The tailings go to scavenger flotation, while the concentrate, with a grade of more than 20% copper, continues being processed.

The final concentrate is thickened and filtered before being stockpiled to be transported 380 km to the Salaverry port for shipment to copper smelters in Korea, Japan and Germany.

The thickened rougher flotation tailings and the tailings from the cleaner scavenger flotation are transported to a storage facility through gravity.

Prospects: A feasibility study on the potential of increasing the mineral reserves at Cerro Corona is under way, and options to process the oxide stockpiles are being investigated.

Contact Person: Sven Lunsche.

Contact Details:
Gold Fields,
tel +27 11 562 9763,
email media@goldfields.com, and
website https://www.goldfields.com.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

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